<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6589c7e80680e08779ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu’s tourist neighbourhood of Thamel has been a ghost town for most of 2020, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-tourism-lifted-by-nepali-footfalls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">just like Pokhara</a> and Chitwan it is now bustling with Nepalis who are going out with a vengeance.Cooped up at home for the best part of the year, and despite a surge in coronavirus cases in Kathmandu Valley, young Nepalis are thronging to nightclubs and resto-bars in Thamel and Darbar Marg.Public health experts have warned that the nightspots could become coronavirus hotspots, but that does not seem to deter Nepalis determined to have a good time.After Pokhara, Thamel, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-by-night/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s prime nightlife</a> destination and popular pre-base camp for trekkers and mountaineers is now opening up to local visitors as they await international tourists to return.Streets in Thamel, Pokhara’s lakeside and Sauraha that for months were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deserted</a> had started filling up again with rowdy revellers since Dasain, and the footfalls have been increasing ever since.Taxis and rickshaws are once more waiting for passengers, souvenir shops are crowded with Nepalis, and bars are thrumming with live rock music.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be65c9c7e80680e08779fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be65f9c7e80680e0877a0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6639c7e80680e0877a1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6669c7e80680e0877a2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6699c7e80680e0877a3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be66d9c7e80680e0877a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Low air fares have also made it possible for young people to visit Pokhara, people from Biratnagar and Dharan to visit Kathmandu, and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-trail-reopens-but-cautiously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trekking trails in the mountains are full of Nepali hikers</a>.Most bars and pubs in Thamel are now open for business, catering to Nepali customers from 7 to 9:30PM every night. Bartenders and waiters with face visors, masks and gloves is a common site.But although maintaining social distance is a norm, some of the nightspots were filled to the rafters on Friday night with youngsters on the dance floor.In its first Friday after reopening, the popular bar in the heart of Thamel LOD (Lord of the Drinks) was brimming with youth enjoying a night out following nine months of imposed lockdowns and restrictions to contain the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spread of Covid-19</a>.But even as nightlife and small business are on track, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepals-covid-19-figures-are-deceptive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu is still on the grips of coronavirus crisis</a>. While much fewer daily new infections (mostly owing to reduced tests and no official contact tracing), the capital city with Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts still make up for over 50% of all new positives with close to 8,000 active cases.Says CEO of LOD Rabin Shrestha:“We make sure all customers have normal body temperatures and once in, people are not allowed on the dance floor. And despite our occupancy of 2000+, we are letting in less than 200 at a time.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6709c7e80680e0877a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6749c7e80680e0877a6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6779c7e80680e0877a7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be67a9c7e80680e0877a8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Towards the end of 2019 and in the beginning of 2020, many new businesses catering to tourists had opened up in Thamel with high hopes of turnout as the country was gearing up <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a>.But following first few months of lockdown, hundreds of businesses shutdown unable to pay rents, which ranged from Rs50,000 to half a million depending on the space. Soon, Thamel, which thrives on international tourists, was on the brink of collapse.Many small businesses were eventually granted 50% discount on their rents and utility bills. But with no international visitors on sight, shopkeepers and businesses have set their targets on local consumers to make up for the loss by adjusting their services more suited to Nepalis and with special discounts and packages.

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Covid fatigue drives Nepalis to nightspots

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb6679c7e80680e07bc5djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1221" height="742"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) announced on Sunday that it will allow international carriers to resume an unlimited number of flights from 1 October.Since some flights were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-allows-limited-international-flights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">allowed to resume on 1 September</a>, there was a cap of only 1,600 passengers allowed to land in Kathmandu every day because of the need to avoid over-crowding, and for physical separation at the arrival and departure terminals.The decision to lift restrictions appears to follow a rise in demand from Nepali families coming home for the Dasain-Tihar-Chhat festivals, as well bookings from tourists who want to take advantage of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reopening of trekking and mountaineering after 17 October</a>.“We have been able to cope with the present volume of passengers, and although it will be challenging, we are confident that we can handle the greater numbers at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-airport-gets-facelift-during-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu airport</a>,” said Devendra KC of Tribhuvan International Airport.Normally 30 airlines used to fly 53 international flights daily from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/landing-in-kathmandu-is-only-half-the-story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu airport</a> to 32 destinations in the region and beyond. Since 1 September 14 airlines had been allowed to operate only 14 flights a day.“We want to send the message that Nepal is returning to normal,” CAAN’s Rajan Pokhrel said.However, the move comes even as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/covid-19-lessons-for-kathmandu-from-the-tarai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu Valley has been seeing a surge</a> with 802 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, and three deaths. The number of cases in Nepal has crossed 73,000 with 477 deaths due to the novel coronavirus.In addition, there is still confusion about the conditions in which foreign nationals will be allowed from 17 October. Travel trade executives say the two-week quarantine requirement on arrival is impractical if the visitors arrive with RT PCR negative reports, and they also want visa on arrival to resume.“We have been asking the government to reduce the hotel quarantine time for visitors to three days,” said Achyut Guragain of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA). “After all, returning Nepalis are allowed to go home immediately if they have PCR negative reports.”There is still no word on whether flights to and from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/india-and-nepal-in-covid-19-crisis-together/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India</a> will also be allowed from 1 October.  Tens of thousands of Nepali students, families and patients who had gone to India for treatment have been stuck there for six months. Thai International has also not announced a resumption of its daily flights to Bangkok.Turkish Airlines has already opened online reservations for three flights a week Istanbul-Kathmandu from 3 October, while Korean Air, Dragon Air, Etihad Airways, Fly Dubai, Oman Air and Malaysia Airlines are going back to their normal frequency from 1 October. Qatar Airways has already started twice daily flights Doha-Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb66a9c7e80680e07bc5ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s domestic airlines have also reported high suppressed demand from travellers since they <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-domestic-flights-resume/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">resumed flights last week</a>.Meanwhile, CAAN has been embroiled in a controversy after it allowed Himalaya Airlines ‘self-ground handling’ facilities at Kathmandu airport. At present Nepal Airlines does most ground-handling including check-in, baggage and ramp transport. Air India and Thai International are the only two carriers allowed to have their own ground services.Himalaya Airlines is a joint venture between Yeti Airlines and China’s Tibet Airlines, and CAAN’s announcement was denounced by a Nepal Airlines union as being “anti-national”.After political pressure, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai on Sunday summoned CAAN’s Pokhrel and instructed him not to implement the decision. In addition, he also ordered the cancellation of the special privilege given to Air India and Thai.

Unlimited flights to Nepal from 1 October

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb30b9c7e80680e07bb18jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: ROBIC UPADHYAY</figcaption></figure>The complete ban on the sale of alcohol in India’s Bihar state had fostered a booming business in bars and entertainment on the Nepal side of the border. The pandemic lockdown has reduced business, but some of the clandestine trade still persists.These photographs were taken before the lockdown, and show bhattis and fancy restaurants packed with Indian customers of various socio-economic strata. Taking advantage of the open border, the flow of tipplers is open and unregulated.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb30e9c7e80680e07bb19jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Responding to this overwhelming demand, Nepal’s border cities are crammed with liquor shops, and their shelves are overflowing with wine, beer and spirits. Anyone caught selling alcohol in Bihar gets a five year jail term, so Nepal is an easy outlet.A whole range of liquors is available; from branded spirits to cheaper alternatives like locally brewed raxi, depending on the budget and preferences.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3119c7e80680e07bb1ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1022" height="666"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3139c7e80680e07bb1bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">It is evening and a bunch of young men have already arrived from the other side. They are talking loudly about ex-lovers, older men talking about the difficulties at work, and there are older men in a corner reminiscing about the time they were young.There are even Indian government officials and policemen who come in from time to time, and try to keep a low profile in the corner. They can lose their jobs back home if caught drinking.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/getting-over-the-influence,1134">Getting over the influence</a>, Hariz Baharudin and Sunir PandeyThe noise level is high, there is boisterous laughter, punctuated by someone yelling: “Saauni, arko ek bottle!” (One more bottle, please!). A full bottle is a delivered immediately to the table.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3169c7e80680e07bb1cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Even after they have had enough and are unsteady in their feet, some customers hire locals as human mules to smuggle over a few more bottles of alcohol across less-guarded border points.Some shops in Nepal can have bottles home-delivered to doorsteps in Bihar, but there is a hefty markup. For some festivals, weddings or celebrations the entire party swarms across the border and whole restaurants or banquet halls are booked. Some Indian weddings have moved to Nepal so guests can be served alcohol with their buffets.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31a9c7e80680e07bb1djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31c9c7e80680e07bb1ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Before the lockdown, it was the alcohol tourism that was helping the economy of Province 2. But it comes with social impact – there are frequent drunken brawls, deaths related to alcohol poisoning, and constant scuffles with police.But this does not dampen the spirits of the visitors from across the border. The Bihari revelers even have a song now: ‘Surya Asta toh Nepal Masta‘ (When the sun sets, the fun starts in Nepal).<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31f9c7e80680e07bb1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3229c7e80680e07bb20jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">This photo story was made during the International Storytelling Workshop 2020, hosted by photo.circle (Nepal) in collaboration with Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway), Pathshala South Asian Media Academy (Bangladesh), and VII Academy (USA).

When the sun sets, it is fun time in Nepal

<figure><img width="691" height="782" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb27b9c7e80680e07bae5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Comparisons of satellite images show that the Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in a reduction in the number of wildfires in Nepal in the spring of 2020 compared to the previous year.Air pollution data for Kathmandu and other cities in Nepal also indicate an average of 38% improvement in air quality because of restrictions in vehicular movement since the first lockdown went into effect on 24 March.However, there was a sharp deterioration in air quality mid April this year in Kathmandu Valley despite vehicles being off the roads. This has been linked directly to several wildfires burning simultaneously in the districts around Kathmandu which caused an increase in outdoor air borne particles.In fact, NASA satellite measurements show a significant increase in gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from the wildfires in that period compared to the previous year.The air quality satellite image (see map) shows that the number of molecules of NO2 per cm2 was much higher in Kathmandu Valley in 9-14 April 2020 when compared to the same days in 2019.But the fires in mid-April were an exception. The number of forest fires in Nepal, in fact, dropped drastically as the lockdown continued. A published <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFIFdMmNTPDMWurp4TjEWvgT05IJw">study</a> has found that restrictions on movement of people across districts in response to the pandemic likely caused a 5% decrease in the number of forest fire events and a 11% reduction in fire radiative power associated with the fires compared to the previous year. <figure><img width="1402" height="780" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb27e9c7e80680e07bae6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="637" height="760" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2819c7e80680e07bae7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>These positive changes were more pronounced in districts with smaller areas of community-managed forests per capita. The difference across different areas of the country suggests that some districts are much better equipped in controlling fire incidence and its <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23659797/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23659797/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGaomVD4EFoyBUfENYKIWfW3ukJ8g">spread</a>.Districts including Arghakhanchi, Rupandehi, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Kapilvaustu, Bara, Parsa and Dailekh implemented <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473#!" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473%23!&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHwnxyGisYlc6bIPKj_9zihH2w3xQ">stricter control on movement of people </a>during the lockdown. Other than the absence of humans in the forests, high pre-monsoon rainfall this spring may have also dampened the number of fires.Among developing countries, Nepal faces the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/its-a-jungle-out-there-2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/its-a-jungle-out-there-2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYaQw2M2X73qPjaF9RyNbvNpVrXQ">recurring threat of forest fires</a> that damage around 200,000 hectares every year. A majority of these fires are human-induced and occur during the dry season, mostly between March and May.Between 2000 and 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data shows that Nepal faced 47,000 unique wildfires averaging fire radiative power (FRP) of 29.88 megawatts.These fires have been linked to deliberate burning by grazers and collectors of non-timber forest products, human negligence and accidents. Wildfires cause massive degradation and damage of physical infrastructure every year, affecting livelihoods of people all over Nepal.Empirical estimates suggest that forest fires result in an annual economic loss of Rs5,000 per household, equivalent to 7.32% of the annual per capita GDP in Nepal.This year has been different. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic led the government to enforce a week-long lockdown on 24 March, which was partially lifted for a month before being re-imposed in 44 of Nepal’s 77 districts.A significant focus on precautionary measures over coronavirus during the nationwide lockdown raised questions about limited enforcement mechanisms among <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFIFdMmNTPDMWurp4TjEWvgT05IJw">forest managers </a>and a potential increase in illegal forest activities. This motivated researchers to periodically study fire data in the Himalayan region via the Aqua and Terra satellites available from NASA’s <a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFCG-eOkm_5HkT6GfIci4R8FSx_jw">Fire Information for Resource Management System</a> (FIRMS).India also saw a similar trend this year: high annual rainfall this year exceeding the 15-year average coincided with the reduced number of forest fires in <a href="https://eos.org/articles/covid-19-lockdown-reduces-forest-fires-in-the-western-himalayas" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://eos.org/articles/covid-19-lockdown-reduces-forest-fires-in-the-western-himalayas&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEXu8aN1uJwBq-0hBgmcU6niw1SNA">Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh</a> in the western Himalaya during the lockdown. This despite the fact that even in cases of high rainfall, the amount of moisture retained by the soil may still be the same compared to previous years.Although the Nepali <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFIFdMmNTPDMWurp4TjEWvgT05IJw">study</a> takes fluctuations in rainfall and temperature into account, satellite data on real-time active fire locations have their set of limitations as well.First, it is possible that multiple fire incidences within one-pixel area are reported as a single incidence. This problem occurs because the location of the fire is <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Extreme-Events/Bushfire" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Extreme-Events/Bushfire&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFSgV1zcKUKU1bUyOV5825pEAhXQQ">usually reported</a> as the center of the pixel. Second, several factors such as land surface temperature, cloud cover and wind direction determine the minimum size of the fire a satellite detects.Finally, it is possible that fires may have started and ended between satellite observations, implying that actual forest fire events may have occurred but not observed in the data.These caveats aside, my findings indicate that the pandemic led to a strong positive effect on the environment in the short-run. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the reduction in the number of forest fire events in the aftermath of the lockdown resulted in a short-term weekly economic gain of Rs360 per household in Nepal. This, however, does not imply that pandemic, in general, has been beneficial.Rather, environmental benefits from reduced incidences of wildfires and improved air quality during the lockdown may partially offset the socioeconomic cost of pandemics across different parts of the globe.The virus outbreak has direct short-term and long-term repercussions on health and labour market outcomes. It would be interesting to see if the lessons learnt in reducing forest fires, air pollution and fossil fuel consumption can be adopted in planning for a ‘better normal’ for Nepal. <figure><img width="1168" height="790" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2839c7e80680e07bae8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Jayash Paudel is an Economics Professor at Boise State University in the United States. @JayashPaudel<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2869c7e80680e07bae9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="141" height="171">

Nepal sees drop in wildfires during lockdown

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6b59c7e80680e07373djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"/><figcaption>All photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>The first day of the second lockdown in Kathmandu Valley saw major intersections mostly deserted with main roads heavily patrolled by the police. Very few vehicles were out and about and handful number of people on the streets were compulsorily wearing masks and mindful of maintaining physical distance.Previously, Nepal had been under strict nationwide lockdown from 24 March, but it was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ends-covid-19-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eased on 21 June</a> allowing limited local public transport, opening of shops and restaurants. However, the announcement also saw a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/heightened-covid-19-risk-at-india-nepal-border/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surge of people entering Nepal from India</a>. After the Tarai cities started reporting spikes, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-spreads-closer-to-nepals-ruling-circle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">infection also spread to Kathmandu</a>.After Nepal registered 1,016 new cases of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dont-take-covid-19-lightly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 on Tuesday,</a> its biggest daily rise so far, the authorities decided to re-impose lockdown for a week in Kathmandu Valley starting midnight Wednesday.The restrictions in Kathmandu Valley means that no government, private or public transport will be allowed on the streets. However, food distribution, health services and security vehicles will be allowed. Pedestrians will also not be allowed into the streets except at specified times in the morning to buy provisions.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6b89c7e80680e07373ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6ba9c7e80680e07373fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6bd9c7e80680e073740jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6bf9c7e80680e073741jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c29c7e80680e073742jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c59c7e80680e073743jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c79c7e80680e073744jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c99c7e80680e073745jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6cb9c7e80680e073746jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6ce9c7e80680e073747jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6d09c7e80680e073748jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6d39c7e80680e073749jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Photos: Bikram Rai

Kathmandu Lockdown 2.0

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109131156/636ba42f9c7e80680e073655jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Although the government had announced that regular domestic and international flights would open from 17 August, the uptick in coronavirus cases in Nepal and around the world may force the government to revise the decision. There is also uncertainty about frequency of flights and destinations that will be allowed. With two weeks to go for lifting flight restrictions, seven international airlines have applied for slots from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), and the number of flights will be determined by the capacity at Kathmandu airport to handle arriving passengers, as well as customer demand. Although the government allowed hotels, restaurants, trekking and mountaineering groups to open two weeks ago, confusion about inbound flights have forced most operators to put bookings for the autumn season on hold. As a result, airlines that rely mostly on expatriate Nepalis and tourists are expected to have limited flights, while those that rely on Nepali migrant workers from the Gulf, Malaysia, Korea, and Japan will have higher bookings. But even here, the government has not yet clarified if Nepali migrant workers leaving on job contracts will be allowed to fly out. So far, 40,000 stranded Nepali workers have flown home since <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-struggles-to-make-repatriation-easier/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-struggles-to-make-repatriation-easier/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFBNcBcINhrTh-wiQHW47W4i2hnog">repatriation flights</a> were allowed from 15 June, but none <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/more-stranded-tourists-evacuated-from-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/more-stranded-tourists-evacuated-from-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHDQRlwjpiSzpde_fwt-5D2KY6JTQ">have been allowed to join jobs overseas</a>. Till this week, Turkish Airlines to and from Istanbul, Air China, and China Southern have asked for only once-a-week flights from Chengdu and Kunming. Budget carriers like Fly Dubai of the UAE, Salaam Air of Oman, and Indigo of India say they want daily flights. However, the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) has not yet decided about allowing flights from New Delhi. “Because there is still two week’s time for flights to start, we expect more airlines to apply for slots,” said CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri. “Since the pandemic situation is still fluid in many countries, the government will decide which airlines will be allowed to bring passengers from which cities.” However, airline sources say that the real reason more carriers are not yet asking for slots is because of the uncertainties due to the rise in coronavirus cases in Nepal and the region, as well as a lack of clarity from the government itself about the criteria for regular flights. According to the existing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-kathmandu-airlift-begins/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-kathmandu-airlift-begins/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG6MjbXj3P9YWeptwIgLz2pVaAm0Q">CCMC protocol</a> for inbound flights, all passengers are required to have a PCR negative test 72 hours prior to departure, but even if they have that certificate, Nepali passengers and diplomats will have to stay 14 days in home isolation or 7 days in a hotel in Kathmandu after arrival. Tourists and returning overseas Nepalis will have to undergo 7 days in hotel isolation and will be allowed to move about only after another PCR negative test. This is ostensibly to make sure that passengers did not get infected en route. However, many Nepali workers have been allowed to board repatriation flights back to Nepal in the past month even without PCR negative tests. Foreigners will also need valid Nepali visas prior to boarding because visa on arrival has been suspended for now. The contradictions and confusing criteria in the CCMC’s guidelines have frustrated tour operators who had been hoping to open trek and mountaineering bookings for the autumn season after regular flights reopened. <figure><img width="2016" height="1134" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109131156/636ba4329c7e80680e073656jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: RAPKE SHERPA</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, Nepal Airlines has drawn up a timetable for regular flights to five destinations starting 17 August: Dubai, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong. The carrier is still trying to decide about the frequency of flights to these destinations.The other private Nepali international carrier, Himalaya Airlines had been operating repatriation flights from seven cities in the Gulf and Southeast Asia. After 17 August, it will be doing daily regular flights to Damam and five per week to Doha, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur, and one flight per week to Chongqing.Before the lockdown, 30 airlines from 15 countries used to fly in and out of Kathmandu. CAAN says limitations due to health precautions at Kathmandu means Nepal’s only international terminal can only handle 10-15 inbound flights per day.There is also much uncertainty about when domestic flights will restart because of the surge in cases in the main Tarai cities of Biratnagar, Birganj, Janakpur and Nepalganj, which are considered ‘trunk routes’ for domestic airlines.However, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-nepal-flights-cancelled-22-31-march/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-nepal-flights-cancelled-22-31-march/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHoCOpTF1eoJPdodbRfzXNSgRjYQ">five months after grounding their planes</a> and suffering <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-airlines-may-merge-to-survive/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-airlines-may-merge-to-survive/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGeccsY-73WhgNfYFgTYQDFBDc9gA">great financial losses</a>, domestic carriers like Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Airlines, Sita Air and Tara Air are preparing for regular flights in two weeks. CAAN has fixed an upper limit of 48 daily domestic flights keeping in mind <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/full-dress-rehearsal-for-flight-resumption/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/full-dress-rehearsal-for-flight-resumption/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFldeVDRWt2ZBhuaXOp3nKh1waSSw">physical distancing and other precautions.</a>Of these, 39 are said to be flights on trunk routes and nine to remote area airfields. Airlines have been given slots according to their pre-pandemic flight volume, which means Buddha Air gets 18 flights a day, while Yeti will conduct 11, and Shree Air will do eight flights. Smaller airlines will get three slots each to mountain airfields. This will only be 15% of pre-COVID traffic volume.The domestic terminal’s size means that although it can normally take 450 passengers an hour, that volume will have to be reduced by half to maintain physical separation. There is also the possibility that airlines may not even get enough passengers to fill their limited flights because of higher air fares and the fear of contagion during travel.“Even though CAAN has stipulated the slots, these could change at any moment if local authorities decide to take lockdown measures to prevent a fresh surge of the virus,” cautioned Anil Manandhar of Shree Airlines, citing the rise in cases in Tarai cities.CAAN says the permission for regular domestic flights has been given for only one week. The flight opening will be reviewed depending on how strictly COVID-19 protocols are followed by airlines, passengers and airport staff, as well as the number of infections.“We might increase flights depending on how the situation develops in terms of safety measures,” said Yograj Sharma Kandel of the Airline Operators Organisation.

Kathmandu airport reopens in 2 weeks

<figure><img width="1500" height="758" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baf689c7e80680e07804cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: Marty Logan</figcaption></figure>Children are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">collateral damage in </a>the flight against the COVID-19 pandemic: some 4 million of them in South Asia under the age of five are at the risk of suffering life-threatening malnutrition as a result of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An analysis in The Lancet recently estimates that 6.7 million children globally could suffer from wasting (low weight for age) and over half (58%) would be from South Asia alone. Prevalence of wasting may increase by 14% in low- and middle-income countries this year. Such an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/eu-unicef-support-child-nutrition-during-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase in child malnutrition</a>  combined with disruptions in vitamin A supplementation and breastfeeding, would mean over 10,000 additional child deaths per month worldwide.
“It’s been seven months since the first COVID-19 cases were reported and it is increasingly clear that the repercussions of the pandemic are causing more harm to children than the disease itself,” says UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Household poverty and food insecurity rates have increased. Essential nutrition services and supply chains have been disrupted. Food prices have soared. As a result, the quality of children’s diets has gone down and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pre-existing-diseases-may-kill-more-children/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">malnutrition rates will go up</a>.”
Wasting makes children too thin and weak, and puts them at greater risk of early childhood death, poor growth, development and learning. In 2019, 47 million children worldwide were already wasted -- over half of them in South Asia. The number of children suffering from wasting could reach 54 million over the course of the year, bringing global wasting to levels not seen in this millennium.
According to Nepal’s own 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wasting among Nepali children under 5</a> still hovers at 10% — a mere 1% decrease from 8 years ago. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require Nepal to reduce wasting to less than 5% by 2030, a target that looks even more daunting in the face of COVID-19 impacts.
But the estimated increase in child wasting is only the tip of the iceberg. Poor diet and the disruption of nutrition services due to the COVID-19 lockdown means other forms of malnutrition in children and women are also on the rise, including stunting, anemia, and problems associated with obesity.
To make matters worse, anaemia among Nepali women has always been very high. Instead of declining, it will now actually increase from 35% to 41% between 2011 and 2016. Anaemia in children below 5 rose dangerously in that period: from 46% to 53%.
UNICEF reports from the early months of the pandemic suggested a 30% overall reduction in the coverage of essential – and often life-saving – nutrition services. In South Asia, these disruptions have been more severe. During the initial weeks of lockdown, the treatment of severe wasting ground to a halt in India and Nepal. 
Fear of infection and lack of protective equipment for health workers led to an estimated 40% and 75% decline in admissions to treat severe wasting in children in Afghanistan and Bangladesh respectively.
Most countries in the region had to postpone vitamin A supplementation and other regular immunisation programs against common childhood infectious diseases, while means millions of children under five years are missing life saving shots during a time of the greatest need. Nepal saw an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/meanwhile-a-measles-outbreak-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outbreak of measles in Dhading and Gorkha districts</a> during the prolonged lockdown.
“We are also deeply concerned about the potential impact on breastfeeding practices. It is essential that mothers are encouraged and supported to continue breastfeeding, even if they have COVID-19 infection”, said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia. “Breastmilk provides the best nutrition for babies as well as protection from a range of life-threatening infections.”
Breastfeeding trends in the region has been decreasing over the years. In Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/back-to-the-nipple-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months has declined significantly</a> at 65% against SDG target of greater than 90%. 
Humanitarian agencies immediately need $2.4 billion to protect maternal and child nutrition in the most vulnerable countries from now until the end of the year. The heads of the United Nation agencies have appealed to governments, aid agencies and the private sector to safeguard access to nutrition and to invest on maternal and child health.
Says Jean Gough: “We are encouraged by the efforts being taken across South Asia to resume nutrition services. It is essential that we combine efforts across health and social protection to prevent more children from becoming wasted, and to identify and treat those that do.”

COVID-19 leaves millions of South Asian children hungry

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129121152/6385f2899c7e80680e0cc94djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="695" height="364"/><figcaption>Patan Drbar Square. Photo: TEMPLE TIGER</figcaption></figure>The ancient brick walls of the Patan Darbar absorb the dull afternoon light like spilled claret. A black dog slinks behind a doorway and a woman in a pale sari gazes immobile from a high window, but otherwise the square is empty.Temples are closed, worship is suspended, offerings banned, bells muted and lamps left unlit, monitored by the occasional passing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/clamping-down-on-the-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">police patrol</a>  Two long wooden benches flank the magnificent nipple-studded gold doorway, usually packed with lounging locals and tired tourists soaking up the sun and watching the world go by.But now the palace door is slammed tight shut, gleaming dully in the overcast afternoon, and the seats, polished by generations of grateful bottoms, are bare and bereft.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/when-the-air-is-clean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">When the air is clean</a>, Abhushan Gautam<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-turns-into-flower-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu turns into flower city</a>, Manish Paudel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129121152/6385f28c9c7e80680e0cc94ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Across the silent Valley, streets deserted, shops shuttered, offices closed, hotels barred and government gates padlocked, the reclining Vishnu at Budhanilkantha lies abandoned and alone. His black stone limbs are strewn with dead flower petals and rotting leaves blown through the concrete fence. Barricaded behind chunky chains wrapped around his metal gates, the normally bustling temple precinct, never without worshippers, pilgrims and prayers, is still and lifeless.A defiant smear of vermillion stains a tree near the entrance. Narayan’s celestial powers protect the Valley swamped by this unnatural quiet, and bolster the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nation’s battle against the invisible coronavirus</a> to be vanquished with a strategy of isolation, closures and lockdown, defeated by a drumbeat of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hand washing, face masks and social distancing</a>.The silence of the airport departure terminal is all pervasive, the car park empty, the doors locked, and inside the dusty check-in desks and rows of untenanted immigration booths stand sentinel to former days. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/anzacs-homeward-bound-from-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rare evacuation flights</a> and the occasional cargo plane brings the place alive with masked staff and gloved security personnel. An aircraft overhead causes us to stop and raise our eyes in witness to an unusual event. Every motor engine sounds unnaturally loud in the Valley hush with which we have become habituated.After 50 days of Nepal lockdown, what is utterly extraordinary has come to seem normal, the unimaginable become commonplace. I wake at dawn thinking: ‘Is this for real?’. ‘Unprecedented’, ‘historic’, ‘incredible’ are all overused words, but how else to relate, to express, to process our current situation. We are becoming inured to scenes and situations throughout the world that a scant few weeks ago would have been unthinkable.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/anzacs-homeward-bound-from-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aussies and Kiwis homeward bound from Nepal</a>, Lisa Choegyal<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/coronavirus-shutdown-gives-nepals-nature-a-respite/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coronavirus shutdown gives Nepal's nature a respite</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129121152/6385f2909c7e80680e0cc94fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Thousands of aircraft are patiently parked along the periphery of unused runways as flights worldwide are grounded by the pandemic, machinery moth-balled and travellers confined to home. The vast skies above South Asia are devoid of air traffic, all borders sealed, domestic flights forbidden, and not even citizens permitted to return home. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-airlines-may-merge-to-survive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The airline industry is suffering</a> its worst ever crisis, and when planes do take off on the other side of this disaster, aviation will never look the same again.Global <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tourism</a> is realising how its tentacles extend far beyond the obvious frontline of hospitality - airlines, transport, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tours and attractions - into less obvious areas of the arts, theatre, design, banking, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/uncertainties-for-nepali-overseas-students-with-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">education</a>  conservation, and of course <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agriculture</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/work-for-food/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">food production</a>.Businesses that have taken a lifetime to build are crumbling day by day. Touts and beggars are jobless, working horses, donkeys, elephants and camels are having a holiday, wild nature is flourishing in the respite, but the roaming street dogs and stupa monkeys are hungry. The world is at a standstill, the suffering stark.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Back to the future of farming</a>, Editorial<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-lockdown-chance-for-self-sufficiency-in-veggies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal lockdown chance for self-sufficiency in veggies</a>, Ramesh KumarSporting events are cancelled, competition abandoned, arenas empty, stadiums forsaken, games aborted, scoreboards blank, ladders and league tables on hold. The massive preparations for race meets, world cups and Olympics evaporate in the face of the most destructive viral onslaught of our lifetimes.Footballers have hung up their boots, racehorses remain in their stables, and the green lawns of Wimbledon see no tennis served with Pimms and strawberries. In bizarre efforts to keep audiences engaged, matches are played in vacant venues, and Formula One and sailing regattas have resorted to virtual events online. There is no fear of missing out, as the sporting world is on ‘pause’.Desperate people queue around the block, snaking for hours through socially distanced circles, for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/feeding-1000-a-day-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">free meals</a> or access to food banks – and not just daily wage earners deprived of employment in emerging nations, but white-collar workers in the world’s major capitals of London, Paris and New York.Public parks are enjoyed only by ducks on the ponds, solitary trees and insects in the flowers, blushing unseen in the deserted gardens. Jobs are being lost, companies collapsing, rents unpaid, loans and mortgages reneged.In Nepal we are familiar with political shutdowns closing the roads and shuttering the shops, strikes that never lasted more than a day or two. The strict curfew that accompanied the king agreeing to lift the ban on political parties in April 1990 was only suffered for three days.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Survive 2020, revive in 2021 and thrive in 2022"</a>, Alisha Sijapati<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/feeding-1000-a-day-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Feeding 1,000 a day in Kathmandu</a>, Lisa ChoegyalWe are exhorted to stay safe and shelter in place, as the walls close in and perimeters shrink, moulded by the relentless confines of our homes. Rooms contract and expand, depending on our state of mind and time of day. Vivid night dreams infiltrate beyond sleep to penetrate the waking hours. Is that a dent on the sofa cushion where I have been sitting glued to my laptop day after day, week after week?Tenzin paces the driveway, wearing out his prayer beads, the tyres of his unused car softening on the flagstones. The cuckoos have arrived and the whistling thrush has nested. The roses have budded, bloomed and died, the extravagant white petals of the magnolia have exploded before wilting waxy brown, and the cherry tree has carpeted the ground with crimson blossom and is now clad in hopeful fresh green.Within the relentless rhythm of the lockdown the formless days unfold, measured in perpetual birdsong and sheets of vitamin pills, all plans in suspension, all projects on hold. In theory, now is the chance to read, watch movies, wallow in Netflix, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/music-is-my-aeroplane-too/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">listen to music</a>  sort photos, fix the house, and call friends but in reality I struggle with the focus and motivation to do any of it.I have learned to value every cup of coffee, waste no food, and prize the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-lockdown-chance-for-self-sufficiency-in-veggies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fresh vegetables</a> bought from the end of the lane. How sweet is that first mango of the season, and with what difficulties must it have travelled to arrive whole and perfect green and gold on our kitchen table.None of us has seen anything on this scale before and emerging the other side of it will have its own unknown shocks and challenges. But when we do, and when we are asked in some future virus-free era: ‘What was it like during the time of Covid-19, the great pandemic of 2020?’, these are the moments and memories I do not want to forget.

Lisa Choegyal

Coronavirus Nepal Lockdown Month 2

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d8e9c7e80680e06b354jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"/><figcaption>Three of the musk deer found dead in traps laid by poachers during the COVID-19 lockdown in Sagarmatha National Park on Sunday. Photo: DAWA NURU SHERPA / FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>Poachers have killed six musk deer in the forests inside <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6140#.Xqb1ly8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D6140%23.Xqb1ly8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWtgTEn-gJBWBHaqI8iuJF44DTyQ">Sagarmatha National Park</a> using the COVID-19 lockdown period in Nepal, in one of the worst cases of wildlife poaching in the reserve below Mt Everest in recent years.Photographs of the dead deer and the wire traps that they were caught in were posted on Facebook by Khumbu resident <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dawanuru.sherpa" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/dawanuru.sherpa&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMjfHdS0y8kjKdio_klu86D_iuqg">Dawa Nuru Sherpa</a>, who also wrote a scathing condemnation of the park authorities for their inability to control wildlife and timber poaching.“It is very disturbing, this is the worst case of wildlife poaching in the history here,” admitted Pemba Sherpa of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH3Ts2hspzPv-1sOm3NHDsbEHOl1g">Sagarmatha National Park</a>. He said the previous case was more than a decade ago when three endangered musk deer had been found killed.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-drives-wildlife-poaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What drives wildlife poaching?</a>, Sonia AwaleOf the six deer, two were decomposed, one was female and three male. The musk pods of only one of the deer had been extracted, and the pouches in the other two were intact. Park officials said the decomposed deer had been dead for at least a month.There were an additional 54 wire traps in a deep gorge of the Imja Khola below Syangboche. A golden eagle was also found dead in one of the traps. It is thought that the poachers could not go to the traps to harvest the musk pods of the other deer because of the lockdown.This has lead conservationists to conclude that there must have been at least five or six poachers, and that this must have been an organised group of criminals with ties to smugglers.The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/345/Interview/13450#.Xqb1My8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/345/Interview/13450%23.Xqb1My8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGX-At_vAiBPCxiSEBEAlPJcO_hVg">Himalayan musk deer</a> is in the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13901/61977764" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13901/61977764&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEcEajLPUihlVKELsevwp9_ckiolg">IUCN Endangered List</a>, and is prized for the musk pouch found in the male of the species which fetch thousands of dollars in China and Korea, where they are used in traditional medicine, perfumery and cosmetics.Locals in Khumbu are outraged by the discovery, and blame the national park and the Nepal Army that guards the park for not being vigilant enough during the lockdown period.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Is wildlife conservation a victim of its own success in Nepal?</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel“We local Sherpas do not killed wildlife for religious reasons, but there are many non-Khumbu residents whose source of tourism income has dried up because of the COVID-19 lockdown, and this is why poaching must have increased,” said one Namche Bazar resident who declined to be named. “If they had an intelligence network, they could easily have been caught.”A suspected poacher from Sankhuwasabha was found near Phortse army post last month by locals and soldiers, and handed over to the national park. However, officials said the musk deer was found to have died of natural causes and the person was released.In the Facebook post, Dawa Nuru Sherpa also accused the official of allowing trees to be cut in the Tengboche area for use to repair a guest house being run by the National Park. “The cries of help from these musk deer and eagles caught in traps must be haunting you,” the letter notes, pointing the finger at the park’s Chief Conservation Officer.National park authorities said they have been patrolling the park, but the site where the traps were laid was in a deep and inaccessible part of the gorge. They said a joint team composed of the army and locals had been formed, and a meeting is scheduled tomorrow with local communities, youth groups and the park and buffer zone to stop further illegal activities.Said Pemba Sherpa from the Sagarmatha National Park: “Because of the lockdown, we think the culprits are still in the area, and we are confident we can find them.”A marked increase in wildlife and timber poaching has been reported from community forests and national parks across Nepal during the monthlong lockdown, which has been extended till 7 May.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In conservation, Nepal is not out of the woods yet</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's a jungle out there</a>, Kunda Dixit

6 musk deer killed by poachers during lockdown

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d319c7e80680e06b337jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Mohammad Jamshed Ansari and his son Mohammad Nurani Ansari pray in separate rooms on the first day of Ramadan. All photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Mohammad Jamshed Ansari, 42, and his 17-year-old son Mohammad Nurani Ansari pray in separate rooms of their house in Kumaripati on the first day of Ramadan while Ansari's 16-year-old daughter Rejwani Khatoon reads the Quran in her room.Normally after breaking their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, the Ansaris would go to the Kashmiri mosque at Bagbazar for a communal prayer. But with places of worship closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramadan this year is a bit different for the Ansari family, and for other Muslims around the world.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d359c7e80680e06b338jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d389c7e80680e06b339jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d3b9c7e80680e06b33ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Rejwani Khatoon reads the Quran inside her room.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d3e9c7e80680e06b33bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1123" height="748"><figcaption>Food laid out for the breaking of the daily fast. Worshippers fast from dawn until sunset during Ramadan</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d419c7e80680e06b33cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Jamshed Ansari offers prayers as he prepares to break his fast.</figcaption></figure>

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